Remote-control device, particularly remote-control central lock for motor vehicles

ABSTRACT

A remote-control device, particularly a remote-control central lock for motor vehicles, comprising an electrical device which is preferably mounted in a housing and an antenna. The inventive remote-control device is further characterized by the following: the antenna is configured a) as a bendable antenna that is dimensionally stable in the bent shape, and/or b) as a stiff antenna, and/or c) as an antenna which is fixed to and maintained above a rigid and/or dimensionally stable base or housing; and the antenna is in a predefined position relative to the electrical device and/or the housing receiving or the base supporting said electrical device; and the electrical device and the antenna are embodied as a as a combined device in the form of an assembly operated as a single unit.

This application is the US national phase of international applicationPCT/EP02/13812 filed 05 Dec. 2002, which designated the US and claimspriority to DE Application No. 202 03 188.8 filed 28 Feb. 2002. Theentire contents of these applications are incorporated herein byreference.

The invention relates to a remote-controlled device, in particular aremote-controlled central locking system for motor vehicles as claimedin the preamble of claim 1.

Such antenna arrangements for a radio remote-controlled locking systemin a motor vehicle are known to be arranged, for example, in the regionof a window opening.

However, other installation locations are also possible and conceivable.At the manufacturer's works, the corresponding electronic devices aredispatched accommodated with their components in a housing, specificallytogether with an antenna. The antenna is generally embodied as aplug-part which can be plugged into the housing. When the antenna isinstalled, it is then usually routed in the vehicle in the form of afreely routable wire in such a way that, according to the general stateof knowledge, the best possible reception effect is produced.

The object of the present invention is to improve such aremote-controlled device, in particular a remote-controlled centrallocking system.

The object is achieved according to the invention in accordance with thefeatures specified in claim 1. Advantageous refinements of the inventionare specified in the subclaims.

It has now become apparent that by installing the remote-controlleddevices which were previously commercially available, severefluctuations with respect to the reception power are found. One of themost important causes of this are the antenna elements which are routeddifferently when the antenna is installed, said elements beingpreferably in the form of wires which give rise to different receptionpowers depending on the routing direction. This applies especially alsoto the subsequent installation of such devices.

In comparison with the above, the invention uses comparatively simplemeans to bring about a significant improvement, which was notpredictable in such a form.

It has namely been found that, in comparison with the prior art, notonly are significantly improved reception powers possible with thedevice according to the invention but, above all, there are also nodisadvantageous statistical “stray values in the downward direction”,that is to say installation cases in which the reception powers dropsignificantly in comparison with other motor vehicles under specificconditions.

The solution according to the invention lies essentially in the factthat the electronic module, i.e. the remote-controlled device, isaccommodated on a carrier or a housing as according to the prior art,but that a dimensionally stable or rigid antenna is used now, saidantenna being inherently stable or being secured or formed on a rigid ordimensionally stable carrier. In this context it would be perfectlyconceivable for the antenna in itself to be bendable, but also to becomposed of dimensionally stable material, that is to say not like aflexible wire which is not dimensionally stable. However, it is alsopossible to use a flexible wire as the antenna if said wire is securedor routed at least on a carrier in such a way that it can ultimately bereferred to as an antenna which has overall dimensional stability. Thisis because at the works of the motor vehicle manufacturer, the antennasare all routed in the same way over the electronic device when theelectronic device is installed in a correctly positioned fashion.

In addition, it is preferable that the antenna cannot be connected tothe device as a plug-module but can instead be securely and permanentlyconnected to the device. As a result, a compact assembly is formed,which can be handled as a single unit and in which the antenna comes torest in a fixed spatial assignment with respect to the module andtherefore the same installation conditions can always be implemented insitu.

In one preferred embodiment, the antenna is routed, or formed, along thecarrier or housing in a predetermined path. In this context, the antennacan preferably be routed so as to extend around parts of the carrier orhousing, for example in the manner of a U in plan view.

However, carrier materials on which the antenna is not secured, mountedor routed on the carrier as a separate component are also conceivable.Instead, it is also possible for the antenna to be formed, for example,on a carrier material in the manner of a substrate so that it ispermanently connected thereto, for example in the form of a stripconductor arrangement. The strip line can, if appropriate, be formedhere so as to follow different paths, comparable, for example, with azigzag structure or comparable with a square-wave pulse, that is to sayformed so as to extend in an, as it were, meandering shape.

Finally, coil-shaped antennas, which are preferably secured to a carrierwhich penetrates the coil-shaped turns or secures them on the outsideare, however, also perfectly conceivable.

A number of important advantages can be implemented by the presentinvention:

-   -   According to the invention, only a single combination device        which can be handled jointly is necessary, said device being        composed of the actual device which comprises the electronic        components, for example the receiver and the antenna. The        installation time in situ is therefore shortened.    -   Overall, as a result a compact design can thus be achieved, in        particular if the antenna is formed so as to be routed bent        around the housing of the remote-controlled device.    -   The connection between the antenna housing and antenna element        is preferably formed without an additional plug-type connection        or as a radio frequency line, as a result of which additional        losses are avoided and the probability of failure as a result of        a defective cable or a defective plug is also reduced.    -   In addition, according to the invention, a defined position of        the antenna and thus a constant electrical radio frequency        property in comparison with conventional solutions is obtained.    -   Furthermore, the remote-controlled device according to the        invention also avoids rattling noises of the antenna since the        antenna cannot strike against parts of the bodywork of the        vehicle when the vehicle vibrates.    -   Finally, there is, however, also no need for a further radio        frequency line in the cable harness.

Further advantages, details and features of the invention result belowfrom the exemplary embodiment which is illustrated with reference todrawings, in which, in particular:

FIG. 1: shows a schematic, perspective view of a first exemplaryembodiment,

FIG. 2: shows a further perspective view of a modified exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 3: shows a schematic direct view of an exemplary embodiment whichis slightly modified still further with respect to FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 a: shows a side view of an exemplary embodiment which is slightlymodified with respect to FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 b: shows an exemplary embodiment which is slightly modified evenfurther with respect to FIG. 3 a;

FIG. 4: shows the modified exemplary embodiment with in an inverted Fantenna;

FIG. 5: shows an exemplary embodiment which is modified even furtherwith a structural antenna on a printed circuit board;

FIG. 6: shows a further modified exemplary embodiment with a coil;

FIG. 7: shows a schematically represented example with a dipole antenna;and

FIG. 8: shows a further example with a loop antenna.

FIG. 1 shows a combination device 1—which shows a remote-controlledcentral locking system—in a schematically perspective view.

This combination device 1 is composed of an electrical device 3, i.e. inthe exemplary embodiment shown, of a remote-controlled central lockingsystem module 3, which is usually securely installed in a housing 5 oron a carrier 5′. Furthermore, the combination device 1 comprises anantenna 7 which can be composed, in the exemplary embodiment shown in aschematic plan view according to FIG. 1, of a wire, a stranded conductoror a tube, hollow tube etc. The antenna 7 is preferably introduced intothe electrical device without plug-type contacts and placed in contactthere electrically.

The entire arrangement of the electrical device 3 with its housing 5,which can also be embodied as a housing shell 5, is therefore providedor mounted with the antenna 7 on a common base plate 5′, that is to saygenerally on a carrier 5′. This ensures that even if the antenna 7 wereto be composed of a deformable wire or a stranded conductor, the antenna7 can be permanently arranged, by means of securing elements 9 which areprovided on the carrier or the base plate 5′, with an orientation whichis permanently predefined and extends linearly in the exemplaryembodiment.

This results in an assembly 13 which can be handled overall jointly andas a single unit, for the combination device 1, and is composed of theactual electrical device component 3 and the antenna 7 which ispermanently positioned in a fixed position and assignment.

This assembly 13 can then be correspondingly installed in a motorvehicle, a corresponding electrical connection being available foroutputting the demodulated data signal by means of a connection 15 tothe housing 5, in order to ultimately activate the central lockingsystem, for example.

A modified exemplary embodiment is shown in the schematic, perspectiveillustration in FIG. 2. This results in a particularly compactstructural arrangement with an antenna element 7 which is comparativelylong in dimension, by virtue of the fact that, with respect to theelectrical device 3, the antenna element 7 is routed in an, as it were,U shape around the housing 5 from an exit point 19, and to anillustrated exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 2 forming twoapproximately 90° bends 21.

In one preferred embodiment, the carrier 5 or the base plate 5′ can alsobe part of a lid for the housing 5 for holding the electrical device 3.The carrying plate or base plate 5′ is then given larger dimensions inthe plan view than the actual housing 5 or the housing shell 5. Asindicated in FIG. 3, this results in a section of the carrier or of thebase plate 5′ which protrudes laterally beyond the housing shell 5″,over which the antenna 7 can then be routed in a permanentlyprepositioned fashion, for example in wire form or a stranded conductor.For this purpose, securing nipples 9 or webs 9 are also preferablyprovided again so that the wire is inserted here and permanentlysecured.

The schematic plan view according to FIG. 3 shows that the antennaelement can also be routed, for example, around a further bend 21 atleast a certain distance again along the end side of the housing.

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show a modification with respect to FIG. 3. In FIG. 3,the antenna 7 is essentially routed on the longitudinal side of thehousing 5 in parallel with this housing side on the carrying plate orbase plate 5′. In FIG. 3 a, a side view of the housing in the directionof the arrow 10 in FIG. 3 is represented, but with the difference withrespect to FIG. 3 that in fact the antenna 7 on the upper side of thehousing 5 is routed longitudinally with respect to the upper side. Inthe example according to FIG. 3 b, the antenna is routed on theunderside of the housing, once more corresponding nipples or webs 9 forsecuring the antenna or the antenna stranded conductor being in turnprovided in these cases.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 4, an inverted F antenna 7is used, the routing of the antenna element 7 otherwise correspondinglargely to that example according to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 5 shows that the antenna 7 can also be formed as a strip conductorelement or as a conductive antenna element which is left by etching, andwhich can have a very wide variety of forms, for example, on the baseplate or carrier plate 5′ which preferably consists of a printed circuitboard. In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 6, a rectangularbase structure, comparable to a meandering-shaped structure, isselected.

FIG. 6 illustrates merely that, for example, a wire coil is however alsopossible as antenna element. Said coil is preferably secured andfastened to a carrier or a base plate, in particular a printed circuitboard. However, the coil element can equally well be secured by acarrier or the printed circuit board using a mandrel-like element whichprojects through the interior of the coil element.

FIG. 7 represents a modified exemplary embodiment in which the baseplate 5′ extends beyond the housing 5 on all sides with the result thata dipole antenna 7 can also be attached to this base plate 5′. Thedipole antenna 7 which is composed again, for example, of wires orstranded conductors can also be secured by securing elements 9 (securingwebs, securing knobs and the like).

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 8, instead of a dipoleantenna 7, a loop antenna has been used, which antenna is routed aroundthe entire housing 5 on the base plate 5′, and in which antenna the freedipole ends have therefore been connected, by means of a connectingsection, to form a loop, as a supplement to the dipole antennaillustration according to FIG. 7. Further modifications are possible. InFIG. 8, the further securing elements on the base plate 5′ for securingthe antenna are not illustrated in more detail.

1. A remote-controlled device, in particular a remote-controlled centrallocking system for motor vehicles, having an electrical device which ispreferably accommodated in a housing, and having an antenna, having thefollowing features: the antenna is fastened to a secure and/ordimensionally stable carrier and secured above the carrier, the antennais located in a position which is predefined with respect to theelectrical device and/or in a position which is predefined with respectto the housing which receives the electrical device, or the carrierwhich secures the electrical device, and the electrical device and theantenna are embodied as a component which is handled as a single unit,in the form of a combination device, characterized by the followingfurther feature: the antenna is composed of an inverted F antenna, theinverted F antenna is formed from a wire or a stranded conductor or as aremaining conductive layer on a printed circuit board, the carrier iscomposed of a base plate, and the inverted F antenna is formed on thebase plate so as to extend in a position parallel thereto.
 2. Theradio-controlled device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that theantenna and the electrical device are connected permanently withoutplug-type contacts.
 3. The radio-controlled device as claimed in claim1, characterized in that a carrier or the base plate project beyond thehousing, and in that the inverted F antenna is provided on the carrierwhich projects beyond the housing or on the section of the base platewhich projects beyond the housing.
 4. The radio-controlled device asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that securing elements, by means ofwhich the inverted F antenna which is in wire form is positioned in astrictly predefined position and secured, are formed on the housingand/or carrier or on the base plate.
 5. The radio-controlled device asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that the inverted F antennacomprises, in plan view, in an antenna section which is routed in aU-shape at least round parts of the housing at a distance therefrom. 6.The remote-controlled device as claimed in claim 1, characterized inthat the inverted F antenna is embodied as a conductor track on aprinted circuit board.
 7. The remote-controlled device as claimed inclaim 3, characterized in that the carrier or the base plate is formedby the printed circuit board on which the inverted F antenna is formed.